from Wikileaks, accessed April 20, 2017 https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07COLOMBO728_a.html Date: 2007 May 18, 09:22 Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b, d) 1. (S) SUMMARY: Allegations of government complicity in crimes committed by organized paramilitary groups have mounted in the last year. Paramilitaries such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-breakaway Karuna group and… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Military
2009: Sri Lankan Government uses Chemical Weapons in Vanni
by War Without Witness, April 8, 2009 WWWReport_SriLankaUseChemicalBombs_08thApril2009 For Immediate Release | 08th April 2009 Sri Lankan Government uses Chemical Weapons in Vanni (Northern part of Sri Lanka) Warfront Initial results of Independent investigations conducted by “War Without Witness” confirms that Sri Lankan Government uses Chemical Weapons in Vanni (Northern Part of Sri Lanka) war… Read more »
For Sri Lanka, US Security Cooperation is Not the Cure
by Taylor Dibbert, ‘War on the Rocks,’ Washington, DC, April 3, 2017 Sri Lanka is a complicated country. In a recent article, Nilanthi Samaranayake notes that Sri Lanka’s foreign policy has been evolving since the unexpected ascension of President Maithripala Sirisena in January 2015. Unfortunately, the trends that Samaranayake has succinctly captured — especially a… Read more »
ITJP Report on Joseph Camp, Vavuniya, Sri Lanka
ITJP_Joseph_camp_report_FINAL also available at http://www.itjpsl.com/reports/joseph-camp in English, Tamil & Sinhalese, with Portugese & Spanish press releases. This is a case study dealing with just one of Sri Lanka’s many known torture sites and is based on 46 detailed testimonies from survivors and a wealth of supporting documentation. The report documents horrifying physical and sexual abuse by the military and interrogation rooms equipped… Read more »
Five Army Top Brass Named as Running Torture and Rape Camp in Sri Lanka
by Athula Vithanage, ‘Journalists for a Democratic Society, Europe, March 16, 2017 An international rights watchdog has called upon the Sri Lankan government to investigate five top generals including its army commander in the aftermath of the war for allegedly running an army camp where “extremely brutal torture was routine”. In a damning report released… Read more »
CRS: Background, Reform, Reconciliation, and Geopolitical Context
by US Congressional Research Service, Washington, DC, January 4, 2017 CRS Sri Lanka Background Reform Reconciliation and Geopolitical Context Jan 2017 Summary Sri Lanka is a nation of geopolitical importance despite its relatively small size. Strategically positioned near key maritime sea lanes that transit the Indian Ocean and link Asia with Europe and Africa, Sri… Read more »
UN Told of Sri Lanka Military Operating “Rape Camps”
by Kithsiri Wijesinghe, Journalists for a Democratic Society, Germany, February 20, 2017 “A senior officer came into the room and was asked to take his pick, like we were meat in a meat market. He looked around and chose me. He took me to another room and raped me” Shocking details of the Sri Lanka… Read more »
CPJ – Keppapulavu Report
by Commission for Justice & Peace of the Diocese of Jaffna, February 18, 2017 CJP Keppapulam & Puthukudiyruppu Report Includes detailed information on the population whose lands have been occupied.
A Look Through CIA Reports
‘Burn Jaffna to the ground’ by ‘Tamil Guardian,’ London, February 20, 2017 Declassified documents from the CIA show how despite regarding himself as “South Asia’s elder statesman and a political moderate” the Sri Lankan president “had twice ordered his forces to take Jaffna” as part of a massive military assault on the peninsula. A set… Read more »
US Navy is Planning Fresh Challenges
“The more it became a big deal, the more it looked like what we were doing was retaliatory or vindictive. It’s not.” McGrath said. “It’s what we do. We say, ‘This is international water and we will proudly sail in it, steam in it, or fly over it to protect our right to do so… Read more »
Justice Denied to Survivors of the Kumarapuram Massacre
“His name is Kamaleswaran” by Marisa de Silva, ‘Groundviews,’ Colombo, February 11, 2017 [more information at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumarapuram_massacre] “Shoot me but, please don’t kill my children,” pleaded Kanthappoody Kamaladevi with her arms outstretched over her head, just before she was shot dead outside her home in Kumarapuram, Killiveddy, by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA). L-R (first row):… Read more »
Former Diplomat Admits India’s Role in Sri Lankan Communal War
by Vijith Samarasinghe, World Socialist Website, February 10, 2017 A recent book by retired Indian diplomat Shivashankar Menon reveals New Delhi’s backing for the Colombo government during the final stage of the war against separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Menon, a former foreign secretary and national security advisor to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,… Read more »
How the US Helped Destroy LTTE Floating Armories
by P.K. Balachandran, ‘The Indian Express,’ February 10, 2017 Ex-Sri Lankan navy chief Colombage narrates how the US helped destroy LTTE floating armories COLOMBO: Former Sri Lankan navy chief Adm. Jayanath Colombage has, in his recently published book Asymmetric Warfare At Sea: The Case of Sri Lanka, described how the United States helped the Sri Lankan navy destroy the LTTE’s… Read more »
On Keppapulavu
by Groundviews, Colombo, February 9, 2017 Residents of Keppapulavu, in Mullaitivu, have been protesting, demanding the return of their land, which is currently occupied by the Air Force. The families have now been protesting outside the airforce camp for 9 days. The struggle for the return of their land however has been ongoing for years…. Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Transition to Nowhere
Time may be running out for meaningful reforms, and transitional justice remains just out of reach. by Alan Keenan, ‘The Diplomat,’ Tokyo, February 1, 2017 Sri Lanka’s Transition to Nowhere – Alan Keenan – Diplomat – Feb 2017 The momentum of the early months soon slowed, as deep political dysfunctions reasserted themselves in the face… Read more »
Only 5.2% of Sri Lankan Military Occupied Land has been Released to Tamils
by P.K. Balachandran, The New Indian Express, December 11, 2016 COLOMBO: The Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, C.V.Wigneswaran, has said that out of the 67,000 acres of private lands of the Tamils seized by the Sri Lankan armed forces during the war, only 3,500 acres have been returned so far. Since the war… Read more »
‘Pride of the Pacific’ Trains New Sri Lankan Marine Corps
By: Matthew L. Shehl, ‘Marine Corps Times,’ December 4, 2016 Video at https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/articles/pride-of-the-pacific-trains-new-sri-lankan-marine-corps Camp Pendleton Marines wrapped up the first official training mission with the newly created Sri Lankan marine corps last week, the latest sign of the U.S. military stepping up engagement in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Sri Lanka stood up its new naval infantry this year… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s War Cost US$ 200 Billion
by News.in Asia, Colombo, December 12, 2016 Colombo, December 13 (The New Indian Express): Sri Lanka’s internal war which ended in May 2009, had cost the country around US$ 200 billion according to India’s former National Security Adviser and Foreign Secretary, Shivshankar Menon. In his book Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy ,… Read more »
Remembering and Rebuilding
by Tamil Guardian, London, November 27, 2016 Today, Tamils across the globe will collectively light candles, lay flowers and bow heads in memory of those who gave their lives resisting state oppression. Marking the legacy of these heroes has become an integral moment of solidarity for the entire nation. In the Tamil homeland, commemorations have… Read more »
Adayaalam: Student Killings, Aava Gang and Securitisation of Jaffna
by Adayaalam, Jaffna Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research releases its first Situation Brief: Student Killings, Aava Gang and Securitisation of Jaffna You can read the full brief here or acpr-2016_november_situation_brief_no_1 Follow Adayaalam’s work on their facebook page and on twitter.